The race started from the Doncaster Racecourse, went through the centre of Doncaster and included an out and back section which was great for seeing club mates from the other side of the road. The long drag of a hill at 8k was not so popular. 2165 runners finished under the main grandstand in front of a roaring crowd.
GRC had a fantastic day with a slew of PBs and seasons bests. The first home was Peter Bonner in 39:01. This was Peter’s A race of the autumn, which he was delighted with as it went far better than planned. Peter set off aiming for a GRC silver plus certificate and planned this by banking some time early on in preparation for the difficult eight km section. Peter was really pleased to keep pushing through, and ended up with a 10k pb and his highest ever age grading at over 76%.
Second home was the ever eager Robin Atter in 40:47. Robin was back to his sub-41 performance standard for the first time this year. He enjoyed the race and was pleased with his season’s best 10k. Robin is excited for his planned race adventures coming up in 2023.
Next over the line was Sam Dodwell in 41:17 who improved on his 2019 time by almost 2 minutes. He was bolstered by the fantastic support along the route and spotting clubmates on the out and back section.
The first lady home was Nicola Ruston-Litchfield, achieving a spectacular 42:40. Nicola thought this was a great race, and although she didn’t like the hill towards the end, the great encouragement on course pushed her to a 10k pb.
Alan Carley was pleased with his time of 42:57, which was an unexpected and morale-boosting seasons best and the second time he has achieved a sub 43 10k. Cameron Hoggan was next to follow, achieving a time of 43:45 which was also a PB. Second lady home was Penny Hodges who enjoyed the race and achieved her best time in seven years of 44:15.
Paul Davis ran his quickest 10k in years, coming in at 45:57, and was 55th in his category. Richard Litchfield was the next home in 47:18, followed by Dale Towning who achieved an almost two minute pb of 47:48. Caroline Davis finished in 49:00, Paul Jepson was pleased with his time of 50:17, proving he still has something in his mature legs.
Julie Gilbert achieved 51:09. Although she did not like the hill towards the end, which seemed to go on forever, she was super chuffed to bag a very unexpected PB. Sarah High struggled in the last 3k, but this was still her best 10k since 2018 resulting in 51:55. Sarah was second in her age group and is keen to run this race again.
Rachel Pattison bagged another surprising PB after her recent efforts at Lincoln 10k a few weeks ago, finishing in 52:19 which was a 1 minute 43 seconds improvement. Zoe Wragg enjoyed the course and despite the uphill drag towards the end, also achieved a personal best of 52:54 which was a 50 second improvement compared to her recent Alton Towers 10k time. The ever-improving Holly Wragg completed in 57:22, which was a PB by 35 seconds.
After lurching around the zero-fun merry-go-round of illness and injury, Sylv Hull was pleased to complete her first 10k in weeks in 1:02:03. Seeing friendly GRC faces from mile 4 onwards helped Sylv to get round the course.
Yvonne Buckley was pleased with her time of 1:02:39, especially due to the hill at the end. This was Yvonne’s first time at Doncaster and she would happily would do it again. Julia Hallam was happy to finish the year with a season’s best of 1:07:00, and Brendon Buckley was happy to complete the course in 1:10:23.
All GRC runners held a lot of praise for the Doncaster 10k organisers. Positive feedback included the race was well organised; great facilities held at the Racecourse HQ; good course to race on; clear planning; great support from marshals throughout the course and a fast result service. All finishers were treated to a medal, pork pie and hot chocolate at the end of the race. Many GRC runners are expected to return next year.
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